Intelligence & National Security Discussion

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 10 Aug 2010 19:06

I am just wondering even if any government gets access to secure BB server , how are they going to deal communication using stuff which uses PGP encryption ,since the Private keys are private to each user and no one can decrypt the message without these keys.

Here is one that BB provides Extending messaging security using PGP encryption

nits · Post by **nits** » 10 Aug 2010 19:09

^^then every user need to give his private key to GOI

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 10 Aug 2010 19:20

nits wrote:^^then every user need to give his private key to GOI

Not a bad idea

But this was really a serious question and this applies not just to BB but even encrypted communications email using OpenPGP and similar encyption mechanism.

nits · Post by **nits** » 10 Aug 2010 19:37

I believe they need to come out with some Master Key which super sides to all private keys. Again this is the legal and legitimate way of doing things... I believe there is always a back channel which exist and can be used if really wanted...

Also we need to stay one step ahead in the game... GOI should be ready with 3G tapping before they did its auction; US launched its first 4G Services last week and i believe they had system in place to tap it...

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 10 Aug 2010 22:56

nits wrote:I believe they need to come out with some Master Key which super sides to all private keys. Again this is the legal and legitimate way of doing things... I believe there is always a back channel which exist and can be used if really wanted...

My 2 cents , The way these keys works for a unique public key there is a private key it is impossible to generate any kind of master key that can open all private key else financial industry will go on toss as we speak if that was possible.

There are choices of encryption algorithms and Key size of different bits which makes brute force attack impossible if some one has huge computing resource to do so.

BB does not only encrypts the messages using openpgp but also digitally signs the messages making tampering impossible and detectable if tried much an industry standards for financial transaction.

So if BB claims that it is impossible to decrypt users messages since user generate their own key then there is some truth in that , the only catch is one needs to install the PGP packages and must know how to make use of it.

Else BB would oblige giving access to its servers and all but the one who takes an extra effort to extend their security will be traceable as it will use BB Standard Encryption pretty much under RIM control
PGP Support for BB

krisna · Post by **krisna** » 11 Aug 2010 01:11

High-profile' Indian under terror funding scanner

In one of the biggest seizures under the country's terror financing laws, the Union ministry of home affairs, in coordination with law enforcement agencies, has seized assets and cash worth Rs150 crore from a single person. The identity of the individual has been kept under wraps since he is "very high-profile".

nits · Post by **nits** » 11 Aug 2010 11:39

The world's best intelligence agencies

Raghavendra · Post by **Raghavendra** » 11 Aug 2010 12:26

nits wrote:The world's best intelligence agencies

Smashinglist.com has come up with a list of the top intelligence agencies in the world. The list has some familiar names like the CIA and MI-6, also throws up a surprise in the top slot.

Correct name of the site is Smashinglists.com, rediff missed the s letter

This list is being circulated on the net since few days. A whois then revealed the original author of this list was pakistani with links to pakistan air force, It's obvious the author is in pay of ISI or is an ISI officer

Registrant: KoolMuzone
H # C-22 PAF Complex
E-9
Islamabad, ICT 44000
Pakistan

Domain Name: SMASHINGLISTS.COM
Created on: 20-Jan-10
Expires on: 20-Jan-11
Last Updated on: 20-Jul-10

Administrative Contact:
Dar, Hamad
KoolMuzone
H # C-22 PAF Complex
E-9
Islamabad, ICT 44000
Pakistan
923345416063 Fax --

Technical Contact:
Dar, Hamad
KoolMuzone
H # C-22 PAF Complex
E-9
Islamabad, ICT 44000
Pakistan
923345416063 Fax --

Now to hide their tracks the site has changed registerant to some argentinan guy.

2 question to gurus to shed some light on?

1) Can GOI take legal action against Rediff for publishing ISI propaganda? Are there any specific laws in IPC which prohibit publishing of enemy misinformation knowingly or by mistake?

2) Since ISI is complicit in the murder of Indian citizens in terror attacks, Can we file cases against Rediff for publishing propaganda of terrorist agency?

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 11 Aug 2010 12:40

So the Begger Agency got nominated as the Best Agency in the World

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 11 Aug 2010 13:09

India may decide BlackBerry fate tomorrow

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 292181.cms

nits · Post by **nits** » 11 Aug 2010 14:39

2 question to gurus to shed some light on?

1) Can GOI take legal action against Rediff for publishing ISI propaganda? Are there any specific laws in IPC which prohibit publishing of enemy misinformation knowingly or by mistake?

2) Since ISI is complicit in the murder of Indian citizens in terror attacks, Can we file cases against Rediff for publishing propaganda of terrorist agency?

Its not a article which does any damage to India in practical terms... i beleive its just an copy-paste article and giving it so much importance and taking action against rediff will be the real propoganda (if any)...

I hope no one wants action against me to publish this on BR

Brando · Post by **Brando** » 11 Aug 2010 14:45

nits wrote: I hope no one wants action against me to publish this on BR

You can't be too sure about that.

Your motives for posting the article in the first place are still suspect.

Surya · Post by **Surya** » 11 Aug 2010 18:07

Tanaji

looks like someone has been listening to you

(or following you online )
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/ ... 85,00.html

Craig Alpert · Post by **Craig Alpert** » 12 Aug 2010 05:41

New Zealand fears terror attack in India before Commonwealth Games

what a bunch of sissies.. Maybe they outta stay home if they fear the terrorists so god damn much, bunch of eunuchs!!!

WELLINGTON: New Zealand officials in India anticipate a terrorist attack on a "soft target" ahead of the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, according to a diplomatic note published today.

However, New Zealand Games chief Mike Stanley told athletes it was still too early to say whether it would be too dangerous to take part in the October event.

The possibility of a terrorist attack was detailed in diplomatic cables released to the Dominion Post newspaper relating to visits to New Delhi by New Zealand High Commission staff.

After one mission, between February 28 and March 13, officials told Wellington: "The pre-Games environment could be overshadowed by some form of 'soft target' attack such as the recent attack on the German bakery in Pune, which would be unsettling and capture media attention."

Seventeen people, including four foreigners, were killed and 65 injured in the February 13 attack on the bakery, located in a tourism hot-spot.

The Commonwealth Games would be held in "a high-threat environment", the officials in New Delhi said.

"The general security situation in India is stressed. Terrorist attacks, especially on softer targets are likely to continue."

New Zealand is sending 195 athletes and 100 officials to the Games and Stanley has told athletes they can pack their bags for New Delhi but may have to abort their journey if security considerations require it.

"At a point in time, we're going to have to say: 'Are we comfortable to have a team going to Delhi?' That time is not now, but that is certainly a decision we will take when we get people on the ground in India," Stanley said.

Sport Minister Murray McCully, who released the information, said the New Zealand government was treating security arrangements for the Games "very seriously". like the Indian government is not going to provide any security for any other athletes!!

A spokesman for Prime MinisterJohn Key said decisions on whether athletes should travel to India were up to the sporting bodies involved.

However, the government was keeping them advised of developments, and there was "high-level" communication between the sporting organisations, police and the prime minister's department.

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 12 Aug 2010 14:47

BlackBerry skips crucial govt meeting

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/busi ... 298758.cms

Tanaji · Post by **Tanaji** » 12 Aug 2010 15:02

Surya wrote:Tanaji

looks like someone has been listening to you

(or following you online )
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/ ... 85,00.html

Nah, but that really is the easiest and fastest method to get RIM to toe the line. RIM is in a battle it cant win: they dont have any leverage over GoI.

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 12 Aug 2010 15:11

Meeting on BlackBerry services inconclusive

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article566403.ece

Craig Alpert · Post by **Craig Alpert** » 12 Aug 2010 23:01

D-company trying to woo Maoists

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 13 Aug 2010 08:31

BlackBerry: August 31 deadline set

http://www.hindu.com/2010/08/13/stories ... 460100.htm

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 13 Aug 2010 08:31

BlackBerry partially relents after govt's ultimatum: Sources

http://www.ndtv.com/article/technology/ ... rces-44073

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 13 Aug 2010 08:33

India to target Google, Skype messaging next - FT

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSSGE67C00W20100813

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 13 Aug 2010 14:19

RIM to allow only legal monitoring of BlackBerry data in India

In a statement issued on Friday, RIM stated that it "has drawn a firm line" in offering "lawful access" to its services. The company says that while it supports governments all over the world in requirements that arise from national security, it cannot be asked to provide customers' encryption keys. It says it doesn't have the ability to do this anywhere in the world and that its security architecture is the same across the globe - a sign that reports that it has made concessions in countries like Saudi Arabia are incorrect.

Mukesh.Kumar · Post by **Mukesh.Kumar** » 14 Aug 2010 11:26

Sixty-one trucks have vanished into thin air with quite a heavy load – 400 tonne explosives and gelatin sticks worth about Rs 1.30 crore in four months.

This is crazy. A news item like this, and no new storm.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/61-ammo-t ... 85891.aspx

With such lax security checks and balances, no wonder the Naxals seem to have a never ending supply of ammo and explosives.

Craig Alpert · Post by **Craig Alpert** » 16 Aug 2010 07:30

Is CAG ‘leaking’ defence secrets?

NEW DELHI: The armed forces are increasingly getting furious with successive CAG reports divulging their "classified operational readiness reports (ORRs)" for all the world to see.

Getting rapped for financial and procedural irregularities or diversion of funds to buy golf carts and delays in much-needed procurements is one thing but the armed forces are aghast that the operational availability of their aircraft, helicopters, submarines and other platforms as well as radars and missiles is being put in "the public domain" by CAG reports.

"Why make the jobs of our enemies easier? To make matters worse, the latest reports are promptly uploaded on the CAG website, which can be accessed from anywhere in the world. CAG reports must have a classified section, which only a select few of decision-makers must have access to," said a senior military officer.

While the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Vinod Rai, could not be contacted since he was abroad, another CAG official contended the reports were prepared "in consultation" with the defence ministry and service concerned.

"Our mandate is that every audit report has to be laid in Parliament. The parliamentary public accounts committee subsequently takes it up. Once anything is tabled in Parliament, it’s in the public domain," he said. Moreover, don’t newspapers regularly report on depleting levels of fighter squadrons in IAF and submarines in Navy? Or, of the poor serviceability of MiG, Jaguar or reconnaissance aircraft fleets and the alarming gaps in radar coverage over central and peninsular India?

"Yes, they do, and often accurately. But they are still newspaper reports," said an IAF officer. In contrast, the reports of CAG, a constitutional authority with access to secret flying logs, equipment and sensor availability reports and other classified stuff, come with an official stamp of authenticity.

"Even if a CAG report describes a fighter only as ‘X’, any serious defence watcher will know which particular jet is being talked about. All this makes it easy for our adversaries to know our operational capabilities," the IAF officer said.

"The CAG reports are important. But are any such official reports available in the public domain in either Pakistan or China? Warfare is all about keeping your enemies guessing about your capabilities," he added.

Take, for instance, India’s solitary 50-year-old aircraft carrier INS Viraat. A careful reading of the latest CAG report makes it clear Viraat may just be a paper tiger, left as it is with only eight upgraded SeaHarrier jump-jets to operate from its deck. Similarly, take India’s rapidly-shrinking underwater combat arm. As frequently reported by TOI, Navy is left with only 15 submarines — 10 Russian Kilo-class, four German HDW and one virtually-obsolete Foxtrot — at present. And the number may dip to just half by 2015 due to progressive retirements.

Then came a CAG report which held that the operational availability of Indian submarines was as low as 48% due to an ageing fleet and prolonged refit schedules. In effect, this means that if India went to war with Pakistan, it will only have seven submarines to deploy.

Surya · Post by **Surya** » 16 Aug 2010 23:58

at the threat of the danda

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story ... sep-1.html

rohitvats · Post by **rohitvats** » 17 Aug 2010 14:07

I really pity the person/company which decides to take on the Indian babu....yesterday, TOI carried a report with comment from a Babu that permission was never sought and given by GOI for the 'kind' of services oferred by RIM. I was like, WTF? Only Indian babucrazy can find such gems and create such a wall of permissions and approvals that one is going to get lost.

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 20 Aug 2010 07:24

Row with BlackBerry maker continues

http://www.hindu.com/2010/08/20/stories ... 491400.htm

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 20 Aug 2010 13:36

B Raman on the ISI's anti-Indian philosophy despite the emergence of Paki anti-estabblishment players.

Threat to Pakistan’s External Security: No Change in ISI’s Assessment

http://www.indiandefencereview.com/2010 ... essment.ht

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 21 Aug 2010 08:27

No solution with BlackBerry yet to intercept mails

http://www.hindustantimes.com/No-soluti ... 89658.aspx

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 21 Aug 2010 11:16

The BlackBerry Storm

sum · Post by **sum** » 21 Aug 2010 14:22

^^Link seems to be wrong ( is going to some KBC article), Austin-ji...

Was it this you anted to link : Clciky

From the article:

A bulk of this surveillance is carried out from a highly sanitised area on the seventh floor of the Police Headquarters in Delhi. A restricted access area, it is staffed 24/7 by a dozen plainclothesmen of the Special Cell. They sit with headphones on in front of computer screens monitoring up to 300 phone numbers simultaneously. As many as 15 service providers have given them parallel lines to numbers of suspected criminals, terrorists and their sympathisers. Delhi Police sleuths listen in to the conversations with prior approval from the home ministry.

Delhi Police does the bulk of snooping of nationwide networks??

What does the NTRO do then?

Venkarl · Post by **Venkarl** » 21 Aug 2010 17:53

sum wrote:...What does the NTRO do then?

our neighbors' networks?

Craig Alpert · Post by **Craig Alpert** » 21 Aug 2010 21:49

^^ more details from the remaining pages of the articles:

In addition to the Delhi Police, there are six other agencies-Enforcement Directorate, Central Bureau of Investigation, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Intelligence Bureau, Central Economic Intelligence Bureau and the Narcotics Control Bureau-listening in to conversations of suspected offenders. On an average, about 5,000 phones are being tapped daily by the Central agencies alone. These are the numbers for which approval has been taken from Home Secretary G.K. Pillai. He admits to getting "hundreds" of requests for tapping phones daily. For every number that is tapped legally, there are probably 10 numbers which are tapped without permission. The number of illegal taps could be more but nobody can tell since there is no record. With the state police also authorised to tap, the number of phones being tapped across the country could run into millions. Officially, the Government cites terrorism as the main cause for its paranoia.

and as far as NTRO is concerned:

Apart from the Radia case, unauthorised tapping of the phones of some politicians by the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) also created an uproar in Parliament. Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley questioned the Government's motives.

and from a country which thrives on SOFTWARE TALENT:

Currently, intelligence agencies are monitoring Yahoo mail and messenger, and Hotmail, which use low-grade encryptions. India has failed to decrypt algorithms beyond 40 bits. BlackBerry uses Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) 128 bits while Skype uses even higher AES 256 bits. An Intelligence Bureau official admits that the ability to intercept mails has not yielded any major breakthroughs in the recent past. Most terrorists do not send mails but keep them as drafts that can be read by others who have access to a user name and password.

The solution does not lie in banning technology but in evolving a cryptanalysis policy. For a country that boasts of the best it talent, the government does not have any cryptographers or cryptologists. The NTRO has been trying to set-up a National Institute for Cryptology Research and Development at Hyderabad for the past five years but is facing the problem of lack of quality manpower. A home ministry official said that these are all long-term solutions, which are being looked into. "We cannot sit back and ignore what is staring us in the face. These technologies affect the ability of intelligence agencies to identify terrorist operations," he added. That may be true, but the Government is constantly struggling to keep up with technological advances and counter-measures. While it is ever ready to deploy technology that invades privacy, technologies that enhance privacy make it nervous. Just like the 11 lakh BlackBerry users.

Some communication services remain out of tapping range

Google: While Indian intelligence agencies have been able to decode Yahoo and Hotmail msn messengers, it has failed to break into Google mail and Google Talk messenger service, which use advanced encryption.

Inmarsat: 4 satellite phone New generation sat phones can be monitored off the air but the conversation cannot be decrypted, making it popular with terrorists and other anti-social characters.

sunilUpa · Post by **sunilUpa** » 22 Aug 2010 02:49

intelligence security breaches Ask the NTRO bosses who lost their laptops

Place Delhi
Year 2006
Official Involved Ravind Sistala
Designation Centre Director (missile monitoring division)
Organisation National Technical Research Organisation
Incident Laptop goes missing from his car

Secret Data Lost

* Presentations on Indian efforts to monitor missiles of neighbouring countries
* Details on the capabilities of the nuclear delivery systems of Pakistan and China
* Response options available to India’s nuclear forces (Strategic Forces Command)
* Deployment of radars to counter incoming missiles
* Vulnerable points in India’s air defence network

Action taken None. Laptop not recovered. Official transferred to DRDO in a more sensitive position.

***

Place Washington DC
Year 2008
Official Involved Arun Dixit
Designation Centre Director (atomic devices division)
Organisation NTRO

Secret Data Lost

* Defence nuclear programmes of neighbouring countries
* Nuclear proliferation in Asia
* Dirty bombs being made in neighbouring countries

Action taken None. Laptop not recovered. After probe, errant official retained in the same organisation.

***

Place Delhi
Year 2003
Organisation Defence Research and Development Organisation
Incident 53 computers go missing; later found with hard disks removed

Secret Data Lost

* Secret coding of all communication used by the Intelligence Bureau (IB), Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), the defence forces, and the paramilitary forces, including Border Security Force
* Logs of intercepted Pakistani communications

Action taken Case still unsolved. None of the hard disks have been recovered. DRDO has practically closed the case.

Sigh...what is the fad about cramming top secret info in to laptops? I am not allowed to keep any information on my company laptops C drive. Violation results in desciplinary action and eventual termination!

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 22 Aug 2010 11:05

In that picture that shows the Green Pine Radar deployed , the green grass area looks similar to Punjab sector.

Is that our GP deployed around Punjab sector ?

sum · Post by **sum** » 22 Aug 2010 11:35

^^ Would assume that the laptops of the NTRO folks were definitely flicked by foreign agents ( most probably US since dont assume the other agencies would have good enough networks to snatch top official's laptops within India and US).

Also, why would you travel out of country with such sensitive data like country's AD weak points, SFC details etc loaded in one place, esp to a known "intel shark" like the US?

negi · Post by **negi** » 22 Aug 2010 23:47

Ha ha nobody messes with the GoI

Install server or close messenger, govt tells BlackBerry

VinodTK · Post by **VinodTK** » 24 Aug 2010 05:42

Naval links on S Korea trip agenda

Full article posted below

Naval cooperation will be high on the agenda during the first ever visit by an Indian Defence Minister to South Korea later this week. Defence Minister A K Antony is heading to Seoul at a time when the South’s crisis with North Korea over sinking of a naval vessel is at its high and China has objected to military drills between South Korea and the US in the Yellow Sea.

Antony, who will become the first Defence Minister to visit Seoul, will be looking at increasing exchanges and interaction between the defence forces of the two countries, but is expected to focus on maritime security given the strategic location of the country. India, which has embarked on a rapid modernisation of its naval fleet, is keen to gain expertise from the South, which one of the world leaders in shipbuilding.

While India has not bought any major Korean system for its armed forces, the KT 1 trainer of the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) is a serious contender for the Indian Air Force requirement for basic trainers. Defence cooperation till now has been restricted to low level navy exercises or interaction between coast guard’s.

sum · Post by **sum** » 24 Aug 2010 21:51

Why terrorists love the BlackBerry

Sources said the decision goes back to the Mumbai terror attacks of November 26-29, 2008, during which the terrorists used the BlackBerry extensively to communicate with their handlers in Pakistan.
Following the 26/11 attacks, the Intelligence Bureau submitted a dossier to the home ministry, included in which was a section on how the terrorists monitored the police operation using technology and exchanged e-mails over their BlackBerry devices.
So popular is the BlackBerry among the terror network that sources in the Intelligence Bureau told rediff.com that one out of 10 terrorists today use it.

It is a known fact among intelligence circles that the Lashkar-e-Tayiba has in place a competent technical cell that is aware that Indian security agencies do not have access to the encryption keys, making it next to impossible for them to monitor e-mails transmitted on the Blackberry.

Although RIM has blinked a little and said it will share information with the Indian agencies, the latter is not happy about it.

"The problem is they have told us that information would be shared, but it would not be real time," sources in the Intelligence Bureau told this correspondent. "Such information is of no use to us. Delay by even one day can prove fatal and if we agree to what they are saying then we will get information from them a week late, which is just not good enough."

Today the preferred mode of communication in the terror network seems to be the satellite phone and the BlackBerry, since they are confident that security agencies will not be able to track them.

To back their claim, IB sources pointed out that of late, most of the arrested terrorists have been found to be carrying such devices, procured under benami (false) identities and using fake documents.

Since the intelligence agencies are unable to track the terrorists' e-mails, they have had to fall back on interrogation and confessions, which run the possibility of being denied in a court of law -- and ultimately, a low rate of conviction.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 25 Aug 2010 18:10

Mysterious death of British "spy" in London."Foreign Office" workers are sometimes a euphamism for MI6 operatives.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/au ... ice-worker
Excerpt:

'British spy' found dead identified as Foreign Office worker

Man, 31, found in sports bag in bath of London townhouse believed to have been on secondment to MI6
Sam Jones and Helen Pidd guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 25 August 2010
A police officer stands outside a London house where the decomposing body of a man thought to be a British intelligence officer was found. Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters

A man thought to be an intelligence officer whose body was found stuffed into a sports bag in the bath of his London flat was unofficially identified today as a 31-year-old Foreign Office worker.

A postmortem is being conducted amid reports he had been stabbed several times and was decomposing when found by police.

Reports suggested he had worked at GCHQ, the government's secret listening service in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, and had been on secondment to MI6, the secret intelligence service. It is thought he could have been dead for up to two weeks.

This morning, the man's former landlady, Jenny Elliott, said he had lived in a flat in her house near Cheltenham for 10 years while working nearby.

On Monday night, she said, a woman identifying herself as the Foreign Office's head of employee assistance visited her to ask if she had heard from him lately or knew where he was.

Police found his body on Monday afternoon when they were called to his flat in Pimlico after reports he had not been seen for some time. Inside the property, officers found the man's mobile phone and a collection of sim cards laid out, the Daily Mail reported.

The location of the five-storey townhouse, a mile from MI6 headquarters, fuelled speculation that the man was working there before his death.

Elliott, 71, said the man had been due to move back into her house next week after spending a year living and working in London.

"He was due to come back to me on 3 September," she said. "He rang me and said he would be back then. He said, 'Can I come back?' and I said sure. I hadn't heard anything else until a lady from the Foreign Office called at six o'clock to say that they hadn't had a sighting or a whereabouts and had we heard anything."

Elliott said he was a quiet man who enjoyed cycling and running and kept himself to himself.

"This awful thing is happening and he was a lovely man, very well-mannered and very likeable," she said.

"He was very clever and had been to Cambridge and had a very important job at the Foreign Office. Although he didn't belong to me, I was quite proud of him. It's like losing one of my own children."

Sources close to the investigation said the cause of death remained unclear.

"The suggestion there is terrorism or national security links to this case is pretty low down the list of probabilities," a source said.

A GCHQ spokesman said: "There is an ongoing police investigation and it would not be appropriate for us to comment at all as this is ongoing.

"We have nothing to add. Our policy is not to comment on individual members of staff or whether they are staff."

A police source said the man had not been formally identified, adding that while his employment documentation suggested he had worked for the secret service, "he might have been an air conditioning technician rather than a spy".

He added: "If he really was a spy, you imagine someone would have reported him missing rather sooner."

Scotland Yard has launched a murder inquiry, in conjunction with counterterrorist and security service officials.

The street was cordoned off last night as forensic teams searched the property and surrounding areas for clues as to how and why the man was killed.

A black private ambulance parked outside the house before 9.30pm. A few minutes later, forensics officers, accompanied by police officers, removed the corpse in a red body bag.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan police said: "Detectives are investigating a suspicious death following the discovery of the body of a man in a central London flat. At around 1640 hours on Monday 23 August, officers attended the flat, on the top floor of a property in Alderney Street, Westminster, following reports that the occupant had not been seen for some time.

"Officers gained entry and found the body of the man, believed to be aged in his 30s. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Scotland Yard refused to comment on the dead man's identity until next of kind had been informed. A spokesman said the postmortem was still under way and could go on "for some time".

No arrests have been made.

The street of Georgian terraced homes remained cordoned off this morning and police officers stood outside No 36, which is divided into three flats.

Curtains were drawn in the top-floor flat, where it was believed the murder took place.

Many politicians and bankers live on the street, neighbours said.

One local resident said police had told her that the man could have been murdered a fortnight ago.

Land Registry documents reveal that the block is owned by a private company, New Rodina.

Its details are hidden because it is registered in the British Virgin Islands and is not listed with Companies House.

The word "rodina" means "motherland" in Russian and Bulgarian.

If reports of the deceased man being a spy are true, the murder will be the highest-profile killing in the UK of someone linked to the secret services since that of Alexander Litvinenko.

The former KGB agent died in hospital after being poisoned by radioactive polonium-210 in 2006